Hi Everyone , With our Gold Coast University Hospital Try Sailing Fundraiser last weekend being the only event for the day we pulled out all the stops to make it a fun and memorable day , so how did we go well starting with a very iffy forecast causing me to have several back up plans available mother nature turned on a perfect day with blue skies , warm water and light winds around 4/6 knots from the east including a 10.00 am high tide so what more could you ask for ! First boat out was Public Nuisance with its crew of lady first time sailors who set off with Andrew and Ben for a cruise around the Broadwater well that's what the girls thought but the guys soon had everyone winding winches and steering the boat and how did the session go ? well I am thinking fantastic after seeing all the smiling faces and laughter as Public Nuisance came back to our pontoon so well done everyone !

With our junior and senior members taking everyone sailing and the kayaks and paddle boards also on the water it was a bit crowded in front of the club but everyone seemed to avoid each other in general OK there were a lot of minor collisions , people trying to paddle the boards backwards ( yep that didn't work ) resulting in plenty of swimming then we had the kids in the kayaks which in general went around in circles , bumped into each other and generally had fun !

The club rescue jetski hit the water as well and despite an early hickup with a rock in the impeller it was soon in high demand with all the kids lining up for at least two goes . For the first timers I kept it slow with some splashy turns and circles and with the more experienced who have been on one before we gave the ski some extra speed and of course tried our hardest to spray the sailors on the water . All in all the jetski was a lot of fun even for me but did my back pay for it on monday!

I have to thank everyone who worked in the canteen also on the day as apparently they had a big day also, I don't know who did what as I never got there once we took off but thank you everyone for your awesome efforts.. I would also like to thank our fellow sailing club SYC for the loan of their paddle boards which were a great success with both our young sailors and also the adults who seemed to do more falling off than the kids ? probably faulty boards right everyone .

THE CLUB ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY IS ON THIS SUNDAY AT THE CLUB PREMISES STARTING AT 1.00 PM AFTER JUNIOR SAILING COST CHILDREN $10.00 Adults $15.00 CATERED BY OUR LOCAL BILLYS CHICKEN SHOP AND INCLUDES FREE DRINKS FOR THE KIDS AND THERE IS EVEN A RUMOUR OF A FREE BEER ON OFFER AS WELL SO COME ALONG AND HAVE SOME FUN TOGETHER BEFORE ALL THE CHRISTMAS STUFF TAKES OVER !

The club will be closed from the 24th of December until the 3rd of January 2019

Hi everyone , We are having a big week with school groups this week with over a 130 kids from two schools having their first try at sailing so you will have excuse me if I forget anything in this news letter as its been a real challenge especially with the change in weather from Tuesday at 5 knots to yesterday 25 knots ! but so far Charlie , Casey and I have managed to keep everyone safe well except for a couple of oyster cuts but only minor ones and with one more school today and the winds backing off we are hoping for a better sailing day for the last day.

8.30 am Sunday Juniors ;Well with school holidays already beginning for some schools and the rest on their last week we had a big roll out for this popular introduction to sailing session with 18 budding new sailors signing on to either check sailing out for the first time or work on their skills . The winds were just right with a light north to north west wind at around 4/6 knots giving everyone the opportunity to practice their tacking . There was the odd tow back as people got caught in the tide but most just sailed to the western bank and walked back up the beach and had another go after all that's what sailing is about having another go . It was great to have these new sailors and their parents asking the question as to how they can progress in sailing as well so I introduced everyone to the club junior progression chart which shows what tasks each new sailor has to achieve to advance forward in our 5 level program and by the keen looks on some of the faces I think we will be getting a increase in our junior sailor ranks over the summer season .

10.30 am Sunday Juniors ; With the winds now settling in more from the north and increasing in strength it was perfect for our advanced group to practice both tacking and gybing starting with a long reach across the channel , the boys really started to nail this course with very crisp tacks and gybes while Casey's girls Addy and Eddy after cruising around on the reach were set of on triangles just to mix it all up but even with boats going in opposite directions on the course there were no near misses or collisions with everyone keeping a good lookout . The boys as a group listened to our instructions well and as the session progressed just got better and better with good boat control and awareness . This whole group is definitely looking like contenders for our junior racing team in 2019 where we hope to introduce their own race series at the club and with Queensland Youth week mid 2019 who knows who might join Casey in Brisbane to experience racing against kids from all over Queensland.

1.30 pm Open Racing ;With this the last race for 2018 and with conditions starting to build for the around Crab Island marathon 9 sailors rigged up for this marathon race . With winds originally N/N/E at around 12 to 15 knots it soon changed and by the time the class flag dropped for the start it was already around 20 knots so the upwind to the top of Sovereign was punishing . Brendan was an early casualty after several capsizes and then I believe main sheet trouble he made his way back to the club with Brian following him in the safety boat . The next to struggle at first was Casey who had trouble controlling the radial in the 20 plus knot upwind conditions but once she reached the top and went on the broad reach she proceeded to slowly catch up with the fleet . Charlie who started last by 100 meters ( hit the sand back before the start ? ) was the standout and just creamed the upwind then as he beared away just started catching waves and slowly hauled in Ben , Steve & Roger who did capsize going past Curragee in gusts of over 25 knots then he caught Simone who was also flying . By the west cardinal even Casey had overtaken everyone as well but the upwind undid her again and everyone managed to overtake her again . Where was Tom ? well he after an early struggle with Steve just took off finishing first with Charlie a great second and Simone sailing so well on the run to the finish she was slowly catching Charlie who told me he was trying so hard on the upwind home to stay in front of Simone his legs were shaking from the strain . Yep you guessed it it was a fantastic race !

This weekend is ourTRY SAILING HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER SO NO JUNIORS just plenty of sailing and fun.

Paradise Point Sailing Club Xmas Party is on Sunday the 16th after 10.30 juniors tickets are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for kids and yes we are holding it at the club so no dress up required. REGISTER HERE.